Recent content by yakimabrewer

Kevin- You are absolutely correct. I apologize to the OP for "hijacking" the thread, and if I offended anyone else I am sorry. Washington is very new to the wine world as well, and as Kevin said, it took time for the recognition to take place. It is very possible that within the next decade...

twd000- It's not the actual grape harvesting that dictates quality, it's the growing of the grapes and how they are treated once harvested. I would think (although I am not sure), that the juice found in the kits comes from vineyards that are not super focused on quality. So not only do you get...

I've tasted in Texas, and I have tasted your wineries wines. Take a look in the spectator's top 100 of 2011, or any previous year for that matter. How many wines come from Texas? Zero How many come from Washington? 7 this year. One of our wineries wines is actually in the top 100 Best...

Still working on the terminology. When I said sparge I meant that I rinsed the grain bag with 160 degree water until it ran clear, instead of just letting it drip dry as the recipe said. Before I read what you wrote, I thought that there was more available sugar in the grains, so rinsing would...

Nice, thanks for the reassurance! I was wondering about that, if the water had mixed thoroughly enough for a reading.

So I brewed my second batch of home brew Saturday night, a Snow Cap Ale clone from the HTB 250 commercial beer recipes. Everything went super smooth, filled the house with some great smells, got the wife involved a little bit. It was very enjoyable. I have a question about the gravity. Here...

Wine Science: Principles, Practice, Perception, By Ron S. Jackson. It's kind of like a textbook, but has most everything you could ever want to know from the vineyard to your final wine. Less info on how to do it at home, but if you were to read this book you would have no problem making wine at...

I think the original topic was how to go "all out" for wine making, if a home brewer wanted to start making wine. Somehow it got changed to buying a vineyard and not being able to make world class wine without that. BTW, world class wine is currently not being made in Texas. twd000- You live...

Thanks for the tips everyone, I am glad I will be able to make use of it. I have been storing it in the refrigerator, and think I may end up using it for building up a starter. It was not canned, it came in a resealable (screw on lid) plastic container. Yakima has one home brew shop, and their...

I am extremely new to brewing, but in the wine industry band-aid on the palate and in the finish of a wine is usually associated with a brettanomyces infection.

Howdy LWes. I am a winemaker for a winery in Washington State, read your post and thought I would comment. The secondary fermentation they are probably talking about is malolactic fermentation, which converts the malic acid in your wine to lactic acid. This makes the wine both less acidic, and...

Hello Everyone, first post here. I am a winemaker in Washington State for a 50,000 case winery, and recently decided to start brewing beer at home. I really enjoy both wine and beer, but I think each has their place. I taste wine every day, all day, and when I get home, I want a beer. It helps...